Eduardo Eurnekian (born December 4, 1932) is an Argentine-Armenian businessman. As of March 2013, he is the second richest person in Argentina.
His family established a textile factory that prospered during Argentina’s economic growth and became a major supplier for the international sportswear brand Puma. However, like many Argentine textile manufacturers, it nearly collapsed following the deregulation policies that led to a severe free trade crisis in 1981.
Reportedly, the Eurnekian family relied heavily on loans from BANADE, Argentina’s former small-business credit entity. In 1988, Eduardo Eurnekian acquired “Cablevisión S.A.” His investment became increasingly profitable after the Convertibility Plan was implemented in 1991. In 1994, Eurnekian sold a 51% stake in Cablevisión S.A. (then Argentina’s second-largest cable operator) to Tele-Communications Inc. for US$350 million, and in 1997, he earned US$320 million from selling most of his remaining shares to local investment giant CEI Citicorp Holdings S.A.
Eurnekian also held control of “América TV”, four radio stations, and a Buenos Aires financial newspaper, El Cronista. “Aeropuertos Argentina 2000”, a consortium led by Eurnekian, won a 30-year concession in 1998 to operate 33 of Argentina’s main airports. He also acquired the master franchise of Howard Johnson in Argentina from Cendant and invested in the regional airline LAPA.